Shark Finning coming to The Great Barrier Reef!

Yes, you read it correctly, the Government of the Australian state of Queensland are seriously considering introducing a Shark Fin Fishery.

I'm angry, really angry!

There already is a huge illegal Shark Fin trade here in Australia ( e.g. http://www.news.com....5006009,00.html ) but don't be fooled, this isn't an approach of "lets legalise it and therefore control it" this is a politically motivated proposal with complete disregard for the consequences.

Next month I'm off to Sulawesi for a couple of weeks, I'm not expecting to see any sharks because they have finned them out, looks like soon it will be the same on the GBR .....

Can you help? We really need International pressure! Follow this link to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, http://www.amcs.org....ive_page_id=490for more information, but also note the link at the end of the page to send an email to the Minister and State Premier, I hope you will be telling her that you wouldn't be visiting Queensland if this proposal succeeds.

That just shows you how dumb the Queensland fishery's minister is.
What an idiot coming out with something like that.
That is going to create a huge movement plus they have to try and get it passed by the World Heritage mob.

Who is giving them the information that an industry actually exists??How missinformed can they possibly be.

Letter sent.

Are you suggesting that an industry doesn't exist here? That's crazy if you are. A lot of the time they're getting around local laws but taking the whole shark, selling the fins off to other countries, and seeing the other 'scrap' meat here for cheap.

In other cases, as Aengus mentioned, they're illegally taking sharks for their fins and throwing the rest back.

The Queensland government is trying to do this (or so they say) to control the industry. Obviously not the way to do it though.

As for Peter Garrett, I wouldn't count on him too much!

One good piece of news (for those in Aus), on the news on sunrise this morning, there was a piece on environmental groups attempting to get the whole coral sea declared a marine reserve, to protect sharks and large fish species. Maybe the opening of Sharkwater here last week has actually had an impact by bringing a lot of this out into the public arena.

Hey folks,We just spent weeks researching and writing a petition based on facts. It is ready to go. Please go to: http://www.sharksave...nt/view/260/36/Share this with everyone you know and please forward to other communities.thanksShawn

The scary thing is I have just got back from a Marion Reef, and isolated reef 200 miles of QLD. It has rarely been dived and was untouched... however there were very few sharks... in fact there was a worrying low amount of large pelagics in general.

When I say a few I mean on a 60 min dive you would maybe see two or three small reefys... the odd one or two dog tooth tuna, low abundance of schooling fish like trevally etc....

Very scary and disappointing....

I also believe another scary fact regarding the shark fishery in QLD is the fact that the quotas are based on a use it or loose it.... so fishermen may got out just so that they keep their quota!

Interests:Diving, diving, diving, marine life, critters, rare animals, new species, mountain biking, Indonesia in general, San Francisco, music and a growing interest in art of all kinds!

Posted 02 June 2008 - 04:49 PM

Shark fining has been going on for years there, just like aussie says. What part of Sulawesi are you going. There are sharks coming back in Manado, they've always been seen in decent number there. Indonesia is not known for it's sharks, though there are places where they can be seen in fairly decent numbers...